Would Cellphone Ban Secure Car Safety?

The proliferation of in-car entertainment technologies -- Internet routers, smartphone links, MP3 connections, capacitive touch screens, etc. -- are great for selling cars, but they have sparked a serious debate about driver distraction.

That leads to the question: If safety is so important, why are automakers putting these features in vehicles at all?

It's a good question. The same thought apparently occurred to the people at the National Transportation Safety Board, which in December called for the "first-ever nationwide ban on portable electronic devices" -- including cellphones -- for drivers.

"According to NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration], more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents," NTSB chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a press release. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices while driving."

However, the proposal was virtually dead on arrival. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave it an almost immediate thumbs-down. Auto blogs generally disliked the concept. "Even LaHood thinks the NTSB mobile electronics ban is flawed," autoblog.com wrote. And radio call-in shows were flooded with calls from unhappy listeners, many of whom were probably phoning in from their cars.

And that, in a nutshell, answers our readers' question about why automakers keep adding these features. Auto executives understand what consumers want. They know how important cellphones are to a segment of the buying public. And no one wants to be the one who took a backward technological step, even if it is for the sake of safety.

"You've got a pull coming from the market and a pushback coming from the government agencies, and the manufacturers are in the middle, trying to figure out what to do," David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Auto Research, told us in an interview.

The government needs to step in with greater license testing, not bans.

Automobiles drivers and airplane pilots were not require a have license when these vehicles were first brought on the scene. As the concerns for safety grew due to the ever increasing abilities of these vehicles and the number of people using them increased, licenses were designed and issued for that purpose. Education was soon required for anyone to pass the tests for each type of license. Now, with the trend towards ever increasing automotive electronic gadgetry there needs to be a corresponding increase in license testing for the safe use of these gadgets on the highways and streets, just as there are for pilots. There are far too many people involved to ignore this problem. It will not go away, but get worse with time as you say.

It's worth noting that the trend toward more electronic connectivity is going to get worse before it gets better. Virtually every concept car at this year's Detroit Auto Show was packed with systems aimed at helping connect the driver to GPS, phones and even Internet. Most of the concept cars are aimed at 2015 introductions or even later, so we can expect the distractions to get worse over the next few years.

Metal attendance to conversation is a condition that we have all been trained to participate in to a high degree (full attention). Such training or conditioning is important, but has its drawbacks. Face-to-face conversations may take the driver away from the task at hand for several minutes. The familiar radio and audio recordings (music or conversation) can take the driver into a transfixed metal area for quite some time or even the greater portions of an hour or more when travelling long distances.

The movie industry is being totally irresponsible by providing us with depictions of the driver turning to look at the passenger while carrying very long periods of casual and in depth conversations without regard for the speed at which the actors might be travelling. To see this is a great distraction for me while trying to take in a nice ride that the movie should be presenting.

In concept, the multi-tasking phenomena (per se) of computer timeshare (circa 1957-1987), has provided us with distractions that are relatively more recent. Competition for our perceived needs has further pushes us in to multi-tasking our activities.

The addicted to using a phone while driving is a problem, but the issue is not to break or change the habit, but to understand it and when such mental activity (complete attention) is required and necessary. It is like dressing properly for an occasion or purpose. It would appear that there are too many drivers who are not capable of this.

As long as there is the "greed factor", there will be manufacturers out there who would profit from lobbying to not allowing legislation to ban phones or other expensive 'toys'.

It has been admitted quite a while ago that at least 80% of all vehicle accidentrs are caused by driver inattention. The other 20% includes drunks, erors, and mechanical failures.

Now we get to the interesting question about the degree of distraction. Some tasks take a lot more attention for a much longer time, we all know that. Switching on the wiper or headlights only takes a little attention for a second or two. Drinking coffee, (not spilling it, just sipping it) takes a small degree of attention for several seconds, but spotting the cup to grab it only takes a very few seconds, and many can do it without ever taking their eyes off the road. Conversation may not require any visual effort, but keeping track of what is being said takes much more effort for times that may be many minutes. So there is agreat deal of difference in the kind of distraction, which many people choose to ignore. Carrying on a conversation takes a lot more attention than eating a hamburger, if one does not drop the burger. And spilling hot coffee in ones lap is quite distracting.

The problem is that we have a serious problem with serious consequences, and a fairly new industry with lots of money that does not want any problems found to be caused by it's products, since that would reduce the profits.

A very fundamental part of the problem is that people believe that they can multitask all the time, and that no task is so demanding that it takes 100% of ones concentration. Unfortunately both of those assertions are lies. But bad habits are very hard to break, and the fact that so many people are terribly addicted to being on the phone while driving is a real problem, and it will take a real effort to solve it.

Of course the auto companies are not helping by putting in more and more toys to provide driver distractions, to relieve drivers from the boredom of concentrating on driving. Unfortunately for all, the toys are a big profit item and will not go away without a fight that is bound to leave some injured.

In short, NO: not cell phones alone. Governmental intervension in this regad is not the cure. Much more thought on the part of law makers, must go into that option before any action is taken.

The long, what does 'secure car safety' mean? Will the engine fall out? I've seen that happen in the middle of an intersection, to a Corvair, and they did not have cell phones, CBs, texting devices, etc. in those days. There was however, a fellow paqssenger who may have distracted the driver/mechnic who may have been in the process of attaching the engine to the transmission, and did not do it properly.

Great response. My first license after taking high school driver's ed, was in Whittier, CA (1959).

Anyone with an auto pilot installed and in use, might just wakeup shortly thereafter, at St Peter's gate along with several drivers who were in his/her way. Hopefully, those devises will not be seen in consumer use for quite some time. Heaven forbid at that time, that drivers might not need to be licensed to use them...

...I agree...I often see the weaving and 'variable speed' driving here too. I'm in Sacramento, California...we have a no cell-phones (handheld) law, but now poeple still use the. They just try to hide them by holding in their lap...while texting...

I drive a commercial size Dodge 1/2 ton van, and being a bit elevated...I see many interesting things...as does my brother..who has driven semi-trucks (logging) most of his adult life.

Auto-pilot......He (or she) may get a very rude awakening when arriving at their destination..!

I and my brother...both in our 60's, have driven for a living, and cell-phones and other stuff are just insane to allow while operating any motor ehicles...unless maybe you're properly trained...police, emergency vehicles..etc...

We both also ride motorcycles, and suggest perhaps anyone who wishes to have a drivers license be made to ride a motorcycle for ...maybe 2 weeks...to understand the real deal with driving...

Design News readers spoke loudly and clearly after our recent news story about a resurgence in manufacturing -- and manufacturing jobs. Commenters doubted the manufacturers, describing them as H-1B visa promoters, corporate crybabies, and clowns. They argued that US manufacturers aren’t willing to train workers, preferring instead to import cheap labor from abroad.

Using wireless chips and accessories, engineers can now extract data from the unlikeliest of places -- pumps, motors, bridges, conveyors, refineries, cooling towers, parking garages, down-hole drills and just about anything else that can benefit from monitoring.

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